Kishore Kumar

Recently I have rediscovered Kishore Kumar. I had been listening to the usual mix of Hindi and English songs for quite a long time, and was getting bored. In the past 2-3 months none of the new songs had impressed me enough to stake a claim in the favs.m3u Winamp play-list.

I had no idea what all songs I had on the hard disk – there is clutter even in my songs folder, ala the real life – I was scouring through it when I saw the Kishore Kumar song – “Pal Pal Dil ke Paas” (I think it is from Blackmail, although not sure), an instant double-click. Humming along the song, I found lots of hidden gems – “Yeh Dil Na Hota Bechara”, “Ek Ladki Bheegi Bhagi Si”, “Woh Shaam Kuch Ajeeb Thi”, “Chala Jaata Hoon” and many many more songs.

I do not remember the music of “Speed of Sound” or the lyrics of “Lemon Tree” or the guitar of “Hotel California”. All I care right now … Actually I do not care about anything right now. Kishore Kumar has put me in a trance, and my fingers are disconnected from my brain. As I type this, humming “Mere Saamne Vali Khidki Mein”, I feel oddly contented.

amazing!! a couple of days back i was asking everyone where i could find the old classics! after reading this post i feel it must be a universal thing. My fav is ‘”tum aa gaye ho nur aa gaya hai..” and also “Tere bina zindagi se koi shikwa toh nahin..”

i think the poetry in the lines is what makes these songs so special. A thing of beauty is a joy forever 🙂

Have been listening to them for long! My favs being ‘Neele Neele Amber Par’ and ‘Tere Mere Milan Ki Ye Raina’ 🙂

Music is a matter of personal taste but I have not heard anyone not appreciate his nos. except one bhaisaab i met during a journey. He seemed to have some personal grudge, went on to criticize RD Burman as well 🙂

Manoj, in childhood Mukesh used to be one of my favourites, but as I grew up Kishore took over the mantle of the best singer. Anyways if you insist I will try his songs again. Although I have always loved his “kisi ki muskurahaton pe ho nisar” from Anari 🙂

Ankit, Hemant Kumar is again one of my favourites 🙂

kcp, I am close to completing a quarter century. And you should not worry about the young generation – the comments that you read on this post, all the commentors belongs to the “young generation” 🙂 Thanks for the visit.

Aniket, I love those songs too. But if I started writing every song that I like of Kishore Kumar then I would have required a post that would run to scores of pages 🙂

Sreejith, the poetry in the lines are even in some of the songs today, but the magic of Kishore’s voice is missing.

Sangfroid, you sure would find some people who do not like him. Although I am yet to meet any, but I have met many people who say they prefer Rafi any day over Kishore, but as you say it is a matter of personal taste 🙂

Well old classics just dont die at all!! You just can’t imagine Hindi Music without the voice of Kishore Kumar crooning in your ears.. Just love the singing of the guy…
I agree with ankit too.. I hav heard vry few songs of Hemant Kumar bu tthey sure are something extra ordinary!! 🙂

Good to see Kishoreda’s legacy moving on into the next generation. It proves good music can never be bound by man-made barriers. I can imagine the joy dudes like Kunal must be having on listening to Kishore’s numbers in a serious way. I was 18 when KK breathed his last in 1987- that too in a very dramatic fashion. Those born during the last 20-25 years should also try to learn about KK’s life and the dramatization he always had around him…..He carried an amazing sense of spontaneity and was simply unstoppable. Btw, many old timers often fight on the issue of Kishore Kumar Vs Mohammed Rafi parallels. Are there any Rafi fans around here? I made the following post to my own blog and got a very nasty remark from a Rafi fan: